Just ordered some 2.5" spring perches, once I get those attached to the upper bump stops, I will slip a coil in there, now just gotta figure out what length to try.
If its sagged and its 4" frame to spring, I am guessing around 6" is probably more like stock, so I could go with a 10" spring that would compress a bit once on the car to make it maybe 8" from spring to frame, so that would be about a 3" lift over stock height hopefully.

In the back I think I would need a 14" spring to do the same, but this is all guestimation right now. I will keep everyone updated and I still need to do the wheel bearings.

 

yeah it would be nice to find out how much up-travel it sported when new so we could get it back to stock height . hope you post pics and measurements of your findings with the springs

 

so these are going to get attached on the top sides, I got them on ebay. 9" Ford coil spring cup which uses 2.5" springs


and these are going to be squeezed inbetween those and the lower bumpstops until I come up with a better lower mount.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-102-5100


Hoping 10" isn't too long, and that it will be compress 2" when its resting cause they are only 100lb/in springs (going for comfort also).
That would give me a total of 8" which is double my sagged state.
If it turns out not to compress much I may have to cut them down accordingly.

I really wish I knew what the stock height was so I knew how much of a "lift" I am getting, cause when people say 3" lift they mean over stock right? not over sagged

 

I had a similar wander on my '85. I rebuilt the drag-link and replaced the sway-bar bushings. It made a huge improvement.

 

Look really closely where the drag link connects to the pitman arm and the steering arm on the knuckle. Those steering links going bad have caused me wandering issues before. If everything steering wise is tight then jack it up and check for wheel play. If there's play then the knuckle bearings or wheel bearings are all thats really left.

 

should there be zero wheel play , none at all or is a slight very slight movement ok ? mine kinda clicks very slightly when I push and pull the wheel

 

Thanks for the info guys, I did the wheel bearings, both inner wheel nuts were finger loose. got rid of the clicking and in and out movement at the top and bottom. wandering improved alot now it feels less random but still is there.

I was looking at the draglink with someone else working the wheel and there is play in it where it connects to the drivers J arm. looks like I need a drag link socket now to tighten that up, but I also got a dropped drag link for a lift kit and will be doing a 3 or 4" lift cant decide. the Zuk thing in the front wasn't the best idea now I know a little more about these would have probably interfered with the drag link, so going with the traditional springs for now.

 

yeah the drag link had all kinds of play but thanks to design of the screw and cotter pins was holding.
looking alot better now with the drop drag link + 4" lift springs/shocks
also made myself an adjustable torque "damper" with an old rear shock and some washers


trucks sitting raked now because I haven't finished the rear yet.
I did some creative parking on a decline so it wouldn't look too funny.
I was going to do the zuk coils and when I went to pop them in,
my drivers bump stop fell off from just touching it.
Getting a hold of some mounts and getting the coils mounted soon.

 

looks great , whats the measurement now from end off front bump stop to frame , how does it ride now , did it fix the wondering and what size tires are those

 

Thanks, haven't driven it much but the ride feels better than before, firm but a little give to it just drove it down the street not even on the main road yet so Im not positive on the wandering but I think its gone, the draglink was the last play in my system.
So the 2 major issues causing my wandering was loose stock draglink, and the wheel bearings, both solved now.
Once I get the rear coils on I will update with how it drives at normal speeds.

this is the clearance I have now, I need to get bugger bump stops or the extensions on the top, but thats easy since I have so much room to work in now.

It looks like I went from 1.5" space between stop and frame to 7"
since I have a 4" lift that means with stock springs they were maybe 3" factory and I was sagged 1.5"

 

I have literally 1" between the bumpstops and the frame. Not a comfy ride! I think I will add leaf from a random pack to see if it does any good.

 

It probably would help, looking back the 4" lift is a bit extreme, looks like I need bigger tires now also.. lol. got the rear perches made for the coils, now just need time to put them in.

 

well the perches I made for the zuk mod in the rear wouldn't fit with how I bolted them together, so I need to take them to get welded up so I can remove the bolt and they will fit perfectly.

for now I just replaced the broken bumpstop with another good one, and ended up cutting the front TJ coils down to 14" and I think it leveled out nicely. My new perches will give me another half inch to an inch when they go on and it will probably be perfect then.
also removed the shock as the torque rod, it basically did nothing for me it would pull hard to the right.
Managed to get the stock one back on and trimmed the belly pan, and it stays very straight now while breaking.

going to take it for a drive and see if the wandering is gone, but I can already tell how much its improved.

 

Glad to hear some improvement

 

85Hilux , what size tires do you have on there it looks good I think , I actualy thought at first that 4 inches of lift was going to look funny ,thats alot of lift but I think you pulled it off, and the rear looks good the way it is IMO

 

Thanks, I got really lucky on the rear, I couldn't fit the 16" in there so I just took it down to 14" and it seemed to work out pretty well.
I was expecting the tires to look a little funny also but they actually seem alright, they are stock tundra wheels and tires so 265/65/17 which is about 30.6" tires.
I have heard 285/70 will fit on these wheels and is 32.7" so that's probably what I will end up getting when I need new tires, and should help fill out the extra space.

 

I didn't realize you had an X-cab--quite a desirable truck you have there.

Did you need to use wheel spacers to get the Tundra wheels to fit or is the wheel diameter large enough to clear the steering arms?

You know, you're a few bolt-ons away from this:

 

Wow, that is a sweet looking truck. Thanks for the compliment, I wanted a Toyota truck and my only requirement was that it was an extra cab.
The tundra wheels are large enough diameter to just clear the steering arms with no spacers, but it rubs on the leaf pack on full turns.
So I opted to use ebay 1.5" spacers all around to keep the tire from touching the leaf pack, instead of reducing the turning radius.
now everything clears perfect lock to lock.

Believe it or not this truck was almost on its way to the crushers. when I bought it it had the timing chain rattle, oil pump was leaking all over the place, and there were a few small holes in the sides of the bed, which I have slowly taken care of it all. I definately need a nice rear bumper and that roll bar with the lights is pretty sweet, may have to look into that.
next item on the list is a step bar to help getting in and out, the bottom of the cab is 2 ft off the ground now =)

 

I'm glad you rescued it. We can't afford to lose any more of the early Toys!

BTW, the truck in the pic is Marty McFly's truck in Back to the Future.

 

yeah, I just couldn't pass it up, normally I am more of a go fast person but this Yota has a certain charm to it. I knew that truck looked familiar, I def like the lights.